King Lists of the Old Babylonian Period and Biblical Genealogies

BIBLICAL GENEALOGIEs-especially the ethnographic tables in Genesis and the tribal genealogies assembled mainly in the first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles-represent a unique historiographical genre within the literature of the ancient Near East.' Only at the start of the Islamic period did Arab chronographers create such broad genealogical tables, encompassing northern and southern Arabian tribes, dwarfing in extent even their biblical archetypes.2 An extraordinary document containing the full genealogy of the ilammurapi dynasty (henceforth GilD), recently published by J. J. Finkelstein,8 prompts a reassessment in this field. The Old Babylonian king list, together with the upper part of the Assyrian King List (henceforth AKL) ,4 now provides further insights into the essence and structure of biblical genealogies. Moreover, examination of lineage systems among present-day primitive tribal societies, which have been the subject of intense anthropological study in recent years, may give a clearer picture of genealogical patterns in the ancient Near East, in spite of the different historical and sociological contexts, and especially as those societies are of an entirely illiterate nature.' We should note, a priori, the parallel and the divergent features in the genealogical schemes of the Bible and the Mesopotamian king lists, for they define the possibilities of comparative discussion. Whereas the king lists are of an obvious vertical construction, biblical genealogies are spread out on a horizontal plane as well, exemplified for instance by the twelve tribes stemming from Jacob. Only the latter, a two-dimensional pattern, can form a true family tree, revealing a genealogical panorama of a single tribe or of an entire group of peoples. The Bible, followed by the Arabian genealogists, often resorts to accomodating female elements, wives or concubines, mothers or daughters, elements which naturally have no place in strictly vertical lineages of societies basing on agnatic descent. 1 On genealogies in the Bible in general, see the biblical dictionaries s. V.: e. g., The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible II, 1962, pp. 362 ff. (R. A. Bowman); Encyclopaedia Biblica III, 1958, cols. 663 ff. (Y. Liver; in Hebrew), with bibliographical references there. For the various interpretations of Israelite tribal genealogies, see W. Duffy, The Tribal-Historical Theory on the Origin of the Hebrew People, 1944. Cf. also L. Ramlot, Les genealogies bibliques, Bible et Vie chr6tienne 60 (1964), pp. 53 ff. 2 The basic treatment of these genealogies in relation with their biblical antecedents is still W. Robertson Smith, Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia2, 1903. Cf. also the most recent studies on Arabian genealogies: J. Obermann, Early Islam, in The Idea of History in the Ancient Near East, 1955, especially pp. 242 ff. and 290 ff.; W. Caskel, Die Bedeutung der Beduinen in der Geschichte der Araber, Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Forschung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Heft 8, 1953; idem, Iamharat an-nasab-Das genealogische Werk des Hikdm ibn Muhammad al-Kalbi I-II, 1966. s The Genealogy of the Hammurapi Dynasty, JCS 20 (1966), pp. 95-118 (hereinafter cited by page number only); for specific points see also the bibliographical references there. 4The first real comprehension of the upper portion of AKL was achieved by B. Landsberger, Assyrische Konigsliste und Dunkles Zeitalter, JCS 8 (1954), pp. 33 ff. and 109 ff. (hereinafter cited only by page number) ; for two subsequent comprehensive investigations, cf. F. R. Kraus, KEnige, die in Zelten wohnten, Mededelingen der koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (Afd. Letterkunde, N. R. 28, No. 2), 1965; H. Lewy, Assyria (2600-1816 B.C.), CAH I, Ch. XXV (rev. ed.), 1966, pp. 17 ff. For the two full copies of AKL extant, cf. I. J. Gelb, JNES 12 (1954), pp. 209 ff. However, a conclusive study of this facet must be left to a combined effort with modern anthropology, for within the present discussion only casual steps have been taken in this direction. Illuminating comparative material may be gleaned from investigations of, for instance, African peoples; cf., inter alia, E. E. EvansPritchard, The Nuer, 1940 (especially Ch. V); M. Fortes, The Web of Kinship among the Tallensi, 1949 (CChs. I and II ); I. Cunnison, The Luapula Peoples of Northern Rhodesia, 1959 (Ch. IV). Cf. also L. Bohanan, A Genealogical Charter, Africa 22 (1952), pp. 301 ff.; and E. Peters, The Proliferation of Lineage Segments in Cyrenaica, Journ. Royal Anthr. Inst. 90 (1960), pp. 29ff

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Genealogy · Period (music) · Ancient Near East History · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · History · Philosophy

• Genesis As Dialogue

  Thomas Louis Brodie•Genesis As Dialogue•2001

  Add to list

• Kilka spostrzeżeń dotyczących genealogii królów izraelskich i judzkich

  Open Access•Paweł M Mucha•Ruch Biblijny i Liturgiczny•2020

  Add to list

• The Historical and Social Background

  Thomas L Brodie•Genesis As Dialogue•2001

  Add to list

• Tribal Societies

  Open Access•Abraham Malamat•European Journal of Sociology•1973

  Add to list

• Myth and History

  Open Access•Karin R Andriolo•American Anthropologist•1981

  Add to list